Spencer Muni, IA Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Explore NOAA NCEI's 1991–2020 climate normals → and a clearly labeled PlainClimate comfort calculation
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Spencer Muni's primary NOAA station, SPENCER MUNI AP.
The climate verdict for Spencer Muni
Winter sets the terms in Spencer Muni, Iowa. A pronounced 56.5°F seasonal swing and heating demand above twice the cooling total frame an annual average of 47°F. Its climate comfort score of 64/100 (good) lands mid-pack nationally, exceeding 49% of station-mapped location scores.
- 47°F
- annual average temperature (NOAA normal)
- 64/100
- comfort score, above 49% of station-mapped location scores
- 26.8"
- annual precipitation
- 153 days
- growing season, frost-free days
Spencer Muni: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USW00014972 · Spencer Muni, IA 47°F mean · 26.8" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-COOL · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-MID · SWING-WIDE · COMF-MID · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 47°F
- RANK-COOL #1,784
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Pocahontas
- PRCP-MID 26.8"
- SWING-WIDE 57°F
- COMF-MID 64/100
- LOAD-HEAT 7,353 HDD
- STN-1 USW00014972
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Pocahontas, IA (+ 0.1 °F mean)
Instrument codes from this station's NOAA 1991–2020 normals, mean temperature, corpus warmth rank, photo-finish peer station, precipitation band, seasonal swing, comfort composite, degree-day load, and field book, not a livability rating.
Mean-temperature neighbourhood
Nationwide NOAA normal poles and nearest peers, not a reprint of every IA station list.
- Spencer (this station) 47°F
- Hot Vadnais Lake, MN 47°F
- Near Pocahontas, IA 47°F
- Near Oahe Dam, SD 47°F
- Near LE Mars, IA 47°F
Climate Living Index · Spencer Muni
Spencer Muni: 40/100 · grade D
Spencer Muni publishes 4 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 2 missing weights rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Spencer Muni, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 64/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Precipitation balance | 26.8 in · 8.2 from 35 in | 71/100 · B |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 160 calendar days | 39/100 · F |
| Frost-free season | 153 days/year | 28/100 · F |
| Annual temperature balance | 46.8°F · 20.7° from 67.5°F | 26/100 · F |
Spencer Muni · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Spencer Muni is a continental Köppen climate: Dwa
Coldest-month mean 16.9°F and warmest-month mean 73.4°F place this station in continental, dry-winter, hot summer climates (Dwa). Class Dwa is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: continental, specifically continental, dry-winter, hot summer.
- Köppen code
- Dwa
- Group
- Continental
- Warmest month
- 73.4°F
- Coldest month
- 16.9°F
Source: official public datasets monthly normals (1991–2020) at the city’s primary station. This is a station classification, not a mapped regional consensus.
National standing · heating-led station
Where Spencer Muni sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Spencer Muni's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- Cooler than 74%
- Among 6,861 stations, Spencer Muni sits in the cooler third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- 36th percentile wetness
- Neither arid nor torrential versus 6,352 station totals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- Wider than 94%
- Warmest-to-coldest month gap for Spencer Muni is large versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Spencer Muni compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Spencer Muni's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
64 49th percentile score exceeds 49% of 6,189 station-mapped location scores
- 0–10: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
- 10–20: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
- 20–30: 96 station-mapped locations (2%). Below this entry.
- 30–40: 280 station-mapped locations (5%). Below this entry.
- 40–50: 1,113 station-mapped locations (18%). Below this entry.
- 50–60: 1,329 station-mapped locations (21%). Below this entry.
- 60–70: 1,236 station-mapped locations (20%). This entry sits in this band.
- 70–80: 650 station-mapped locations (11%). Above this entry.
- 80–90: 921 station-mapped locations (15%). Above this entry.
- 90–100: 564 station-mapped locations (9%). Above this entry.
Source NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, PlainClimate comfort index · 1991–2020
Monthly Temperatures
Average daily high and low temperatures by month
| Month | Avg High | Avg Low | Mean | Precip | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 26°F (-3°C) | 8°F (-13°C) | 17°F (-8°C) | 0.3" | 30.9 | 0.0 |
| February | 30°F (-1°C) | 13°F (-11°C) | 21°F (-6°C) | 0.4" | 27.0 | 0.0 |
| March | 44°F (6°C) | 25°F (-4°C) | 34°F (1°C) | 1.4" | 24.7 | 0.0 |
| April | 59°F (15°C) | 36°F (2°C) | 47°F (8°C) | 2.8" | 12.4 | 0.2 |
| May | 71°F (22°C) | 48°F (9°C) | 59°F (15°C) | 3.8" | 2.0 | 1.3 |
| June | 81°F (27°C) | 59°F (15°C) | 70°F (21°C) | 4.0" | 0.0 | 4.1 |
| July | 85°F (29°C) | 62°F (17°C) | 73°F (23°C) | 3.8" | 0.0 | 7.1 |
| August | 82°F (28°C) | 59°F (15°C) | 71°F (21°C) | 3.3" | 0.0 | 3.4 |
| September | 76°F (24°C) | 50°F (10°C) | 63°F (17°C) | 3.2" | 1.4 | 2.3 |
| October | 61°F (16°C) | 37°F (3°C) | 49°F (10°C) | 2.2" | 11.4 | 0.2 |
| November | 45°F (7°C) | 25°F (-4°C) | 35°F (1°C) | 1.1" | 23.6 | 0.0 |
| December | 31°F (-1°C) | 14°F (-10°C) | 22°F (-5°C) | 0.4" | 30.0 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 85°F around July 9, short of 90°F on every date, while 160 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 8°F near January 16.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into April 5, then returns to freezing around October 29, covering 160 dates in all.
Derived from the normal daily minimum. This is a different measure from the 50%-probability frost dates shown elsewhere on this page, which come from NOAA’s frost product.
Where the wet dates fall
The likeliest wet date is May 28, when 42% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is January 4 at 14%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 98 wet dates a year.
The widest day
September 23 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 26°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Spencer Muni.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall
4.3 days with precipitation
4.3 days with precipitation
6.4 days with precipitation
10.0 days with precipitation
12.9 days with precipitation
12.0 days with precipitation
9.1 days with precipitation
10.9 days with precipitation
9.4 days with precipitation
8.2 days with precipitation
5.1 days with precipitation
4.6 days with precipitation
Spencer Muni runs a summer-peaked wet season
42% of Spencer Muni's yearly precipitation falls in June, July and August alone, against the 25% an evenly spread year would give those three months. The wettest month is June at 4.0", on a wide 56.5°F gap between its warmest and coldest month. Warm-season convection and, across the Southwest, the North American monsoon produce this shape: rain arrives in short heavy bursts during the hottest part of the year rather than as long cool-season soaking.
- Wettest three months: June, July, May, taking 44% of the annual total between them.
- Driest month: January at 0.3".
- Winter share: 4% falls in December, January and February.
Shares are computed from this station's own 1991-2020 monthly precipitation normals. A summer-peaked label means the June-August share reaches 35%; it describes timing across an average year, not any single season, and says nothing about how heavy an individual storm can be.
How Spencer Muni's precipitation splits across the calendar
About 97 days a year record measurable precipitation here, carrying 26.8" between them, or roughly 0.28 inches on a typical wet day. That sits in the middle band: neither the many-light-days pattern of the Pacific Northwest and the Great Lakes, nor the few-heavy-events pattern of the Gulf and the desert Southwest.
A wet day is one recording at least 0.01 inches. These are 1991-2020 normals: they describe an average year and say nothing about the heaviest single storm on record.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
October 2
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
May 2
50% probability date
Growing Season
153 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
7,353
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
774
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside IA closest to Spencer Muni on two NOAA annual-normal axes (mean temperature and annual precipitation). Chip rows use distinct link sets.
Closest by average temperature
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual mean temperature (47°F here).
- Bigfork, MT 47°F · 0.0°F off
- Chamberlain, SD 47°F · 0.0°F off
- Cody, WY 47°F · 0.0°F off
- Dodge, WI 47°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (26.8" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Cheyenne, OK 26.8" · 0.0" off
- Taylor, NE 26.8" · 0.0" off
- Charlotte, TX 26.8" · 0.0" off
- Fergus Falls, MN 26.9" · 0.0" off
Data-derived climate profile
How Spencer Muni's climate pattern fits together
heating led · moderate · high swing
Winter and seasonal range jointly define this record. Spencer Muni logs 7,353 heating degree days, more than twice its 774 cooling total, while the typical coldest-to-warmest-month gap reaches 56.5°F. The annual mean therefore compresses two materially different seasons.
Spencer Muni's frost-free season lasts about 153 days, a middle-length window whose endpoints matter more than the annual average. It describes freeze probability, not year-specific planting conditions.
Spencer Muni's calendar has a pronounced split: July and January mark the typical warm and cold ends of the calendar, with 56.5°F between them. The annual average is 47°F. That average is context, while the monthly highs, lows, and precipitation totals describe the lived parts of the year.
Spencer Muni's 26.8 inches of annual precipitation falls in PlainClimate's middle band, so “wet” or “dry” is not the leading description. Snowfall is not added to the interpretation because its annual value is missing. Temperature balance and the calendar distribution carry more information than the annual moisture label alone.
These labels group NOAA 1991-2020 normals from Spencer Muni's primary station, so the winter figures are a thirty-year average and not a floor: a single hard season can run well below them. Treat each band as a descriptive range for Spencer Muni, not an official NOAA class or a year-ahead forecast.
Questions about Spencer Muni's climate
How much rain does Spencer Muni get? ▼
How cold does Spencer Muni get in winter? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Spencer Muni? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Spencer Muni's primary station: SPENCER MUNI AP (USW00014972). For informational purposes only.
Place identity: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer places. The conservative exact name-and-state crosswalk finds no Census place match, so PlainClimate treats this as a station-mapped location and does not claim it is a municipality. No exact Gazetteer row for Spencer Muni; facility counts that depend on place identity are therefore an upper bound, not a municipal census.
On this page every temperature, precipitation, and derived score for Spencer Muni comes from its primary NOAA station record. No figure on this page is typed in by an editor - each value is rendered from NOAA 1991-2020 U.S. Climate Normals. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 1991–2020 normals.